Chapter 11
Something is wrong at the Cossack Citadel. I can feel it in the air after I emerge, the silence thick and deadly. I freeze, trying to pinpoint the source. It's too quiet. Dr. Cossack must be out, and with him most of the Robot Masters. Something has happened to call them away. Something has happened in their absence.
I'm already moving when Kalinka screams, but I'm not fast enough, too far away as Blues yells something unintelligible. My shadows shift to shortcuts, but as I leave them, I can hear Kalinka's cries change, shifting from surprise to fear. I am already too late.
Pharaoh Man has one hand clamped down on Kalinka's arm, twisting it. His other is around Blues' throat.
"Ptolemy," I breathe, stopping again. Any move might trigger more violence. "You must stop this. You're hurting your sister!"
"That is not my sister," Pharaoh Man growls, and I don't need to see the glow in his eyes to know that the madness is back. "My sister is a child. Do not lie to me, Hikari!"
His grip on Blues is choking, but not life-threatening. Like me, Blues is also trying not to move, to keep Pharaoh Man from breaking the already fragile girl. His eyes are hidden, but I can tell he's looking at me, his breathing shallow.
"I would not lie to you," I say quietly. "She is human, and you are hurting her."
"A Wily trick!" Pharaoh Man snaps. "If I pull hard enough, I will expose her wires and metal. Shall I try?"
Blues makes a strangled sound. Pharaoh Man's eyes shift to him, narrowing.
"I know who this one is," he says. "Your disguise will not trick me."
His grip begins to tighten. I cry out as Blues chokes, surging forward to grab his arm.
"Stop it," I say. "Ptolemy, please."
"Stop being such a fool, Hikari!" Pharaoh Man responds. Kalinka gives a wordless cry, but he's not paying attention to her anymore, his eyes locked on Blues. "Like father, like son. He'll only cause more harm if he continues to live."
"You don't know that," I reply. "I have watched him. He can change. He has changed."
Pharaoh Man snorts. "You are blinded by your feelings. I don't care about your little crush—I care about killing a monster."
"He's not a monster," Kalinka cries, outraged. "And neither are you. But if you kill him, Tomy, you will become one."
"That's inevitable," Pharaoh Man says dismissively. "I will have my revenge for what Wily's done to me."
"No," I say firmly. "It isn't. Your father and brothers have hope for you to get better. Your sister believes in you. And Proto Man, for all he's done, for all you think he's like, has been just as badly hurt by Wily as the rest of us. You aren't in Skull Fortress anymore, Ptolemy. He has a chance to be better, to become something more, and so do you."
Pharaoh Man stares at me.
"Don't throw that away," I say quietly. "Don't become the monster Wily wanted you to be."
"Ptolemy, please," Kalinka begs. "Listen to him."
Pharaoh Man's eyes slide back to her, recognition finally trickling into his expression. He lets go of her arm and I wince at the dark bruise already forming there. "Kalinka…"
His eyes shift back to Blues, filling with rage. In his distraction, I've gotten a better grip on his arm. I manage to tear his grip away from Blues. Blues gasps, half collapsing against the wall. Pharaoh Man grabs for him, but I push him back. His grip settles on my shoulders. He squeezes hard, and it takes all my effort not to cry out.
"I won't let him fool you," Pharaoh Man snaps. "I won't let him dwell in this house, I won't let him touch my sister! I am trying to save you grief, Hikari."
I can do nothing but gasp as his grip digs in, damaging. To fight back could hurt him or Kalinka. To fail to fight back will be fatal. Kalinka tries to intervene, but Blues stops her, holding her behind him.
"Fine," Blues says. "You want to hurt me? Hurt me! Rip my good eye out, do anything you want, but stop hurting everyone else!"
Pharaoh Man's grip lessens as he turns to Blues with narrow-eyed suspicion.
"Look at what you're doing to your only friend," Blues continues. "Look at what you did to Kalinka! Just—just hurt me instead, okay? You can't do anything worse than what Wily's done."
Pharaoh Man shoves me away with a snarl. He shoves me away and grabs Blues by his scarf, ignoring Kalinka's cry of protest.
"I will never," Pharaoh Man hisses, yanking Blues close. "Forgive you. No matter what name you use, no matter how hard you try, I will always remember the harm you've done. The pain you enjoyed causing. Never, do you understand?"
Blues flinches away, braced for a blow, but all Pharaoh Man does is shove him away.
I catch him before he falls. He's not mine , I think, but I wrap my arms around him like he is, holding him protectively.
Pharaoh Man does not attack again. He looks at the bruise on Kalinka's arm and slowly crumples, covering his face with a sob. "I'm sorry, kiska . I'm sorry…"
The silence is only broken by Pharaoh Man's sobs. Kalinka takes a deep breath, and looks at me.
"I'll call my father," she says quietly. "Get Blues out of here, okay?"
Blues makes a noise of protest, but I can see that Kalinka is right. Pharaoh Man is broken. There will be no more violence today. I led Blues away despite his attempts to shake off my grip. I don't let go until we're somewhere quiet, somewhere safe.
"Let me see your throat," I say. Blues tenses when I pull his scarf away, but he doesn't flinch when I touch his skin, searching for tears in his artificial flesh. "What happened?"
"Pharaoh Man… found us," Blues says, hesitant.
I don't say anything to that. The details are not mine to know. The idea of them makes something deep inside twist uncomfortably. He is not mine .
"You don't appear to be damaged," I say. "Is Cossack nearby?"
"He said he would only be going to the nearest city. I don't know why he took the others with him, but…" Blues tilts his head, as if about to ask me a question. I'm still touching his neck. I pull away as if burned.
Instead of asking the obvious, Blues looks away. "He didn't damage me."
"I'm not sure he actually wanted to hurt you," I say cautiously.
"Oh, no," Blues says bitterly. "He did."
The silence lasts long enough for my shadows to get anxious, to start pulling.
"I didn't think I wanted that," Blues says, his voice thick. "Forgiveness. I thought I would be fine without it."
"But you are not," I say quietly.
"No," he replies, just as quiet. "I'm not."
"We can't always have what we want," I say carefully. "But we can always try to obtain it."
"You think?" he says, giving me a strange look.
But I cannot answer him, knowing that I'm a liar. The sounds of the Cossacks returning echo through the halls, and as Blues turns his head toward the anxious voices, I sink into shadow and run away.